Customers into Advocates

One of the first tech companies I worked for was Netgear, which was later acquired by Cisco. My role was that of what they called a Tech Support Technician. Just as the title suggests, it was a $9 entry-level job, and I got it mostly because I'm fluent in German, and they needed coverage for the DACH (Deutschland, Austria, and Confoederatio Helvetica)—basically Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. I also had my tech skills from taking apart PCs and explosives as an IDF sapper.

What was unique about this role was that Netgear understood that the person who could troubleshoot could also sell the product. So the role was a combined technical and sales role, and this was in the days before such titles as Sales Engineers. But in essence, that's what it was. Someone from Germany would call in, "Ich habe ein Problem!" and I would use empathy. But back then, empathy wasn't all the rage like it is today. I’d simply say, "Ja. Was ist das Problem?" instead of the more elaborate customer service scripts we hear now, like, "Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear, I can imagine how frustrating this must be for you. On behalf of Netgear, I deeply apologize for the inconvenience and I must let you know that this is not the standard we're aiming for. I promise you today that I will stay on the line with you until your issue is completely resolved to your satisfaction."

Honestly, if I had to say all that back then, I would have quit and gone to work at McDonald's—somewhere far back in the kitchen. But the world has changed since then. Back to the topic: if you can fix the problem, you can sell the product. The device is busted, you know it is, and you need to do an RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) to get that junk back for a refund or replacement. But if you know how to sell, you can say things like, "Hey, I'd like to let you know that based on what you've told me, this wasn't the right device for you anyway. You have a two-story home with three bedrooms. This device cannot cover your whole living space. You need the XFC2000 Ultra Megajumbo for only EUR 499, which I have in stock for you right now and can be with you tomorrow. I can subtract the EUR 99 you paid for the RMA device, and you'll only pay EUR 400. How does that sound?"

"Wunderbar!" And there, the loss from returns was replaced with upsells. I was certain that all businesses would adopt this model. But in 2024, after being in tech sales and customer service for two decades, I'm still surprised by how undervalued customer interactions are. Companies see it as a necessary evil. Investors want assurances that very little will be spent on customer service and retention. The nonsense that AI will replace it all is all the hype. Even ChatGPT itself will admit that it's a bad idea to completely replace customer service with AI, as it has no empathy.

So, you have a world with many, many, many unhappy customers. The smart companies realize that this is a problem, but usually only once the chargebacks are so bad that Stripe is now charging them a punishing 30% processing fee, PayPal has long banned them, and Visa is close to ending the relationship. Not to mention that their Trustpilot reviews are painful to look at with all the near irreparable, scathing reviews.

Revolut is an example of a large, successful company that thought customer service didn't matter—until they got hammered. They learned what seems to have been overnight, and now if you look at their Trustpilot, it's almost stellar. But many of the services we use—Netflix, Comcast, AT&T, and most likely your bank—mostly have abhorrent reviews because there is still this belief that customer service doesn’t matter, especially when you are a big company that can afford to lose customers. In my not-so-humble opinion, they have cancer, and they don’t know it.

The good news is that it’s rarely too late to fix this situation, and it’s only beneficial as it transforms into revenue. Happy customers mean more referrals, more retention, and more revenue. You’d think even a kid would understand this basic concept, but most companies don’t. The ones that do are such a pleasure to deal with that you just want to buy more from them.

The companies that hire me, usually when they’re spiraling out of control, are at a place where they come across as dodgy. But that’s often the result of neglecting customers. If they didn’t care, would they hire me to fix the problem? And the healing process always starts with, "We’re sorry for how things have been until now. From now on, things will be different. What can we do to keep you as a customer?"

In short, let the customer know you care about them—because if you care about revenue, you should.